How An 18-Year-Old Stayed Hidden In A Utah Home

An 18-year-old Utah man has been arrested after police say he was discovered living in a Bluffdale family’s home inside their young daughter’s bedroom.

Ryker Xethanial Buxton now faces multiple charges, including rape of a child.

According to court documents, police were first called to the home on Sept. 8 after the family reported a trespassing incident.

Officers learned the family’s 12-year-old daughter had secretly allowed Buxton into the house, where investigators say he hid in her bedroom for about 10 days.

Police removed Buxton from the home, but a week later, on Sept. 15, the girl’s parents reported she had run away and was likely with him. The following day, both Buxton and the child were found in Provo, where the girl admitted she had been with him while missing.

Buxton is currently in jail, but I'm not going to lie -- I can't help but wonder how a grown man could hide inside a kid's bedroom for 10 days without being detected.

I mean, didn't the parents ever go in there? Didn't they hear strange noises?

Even if the daughter was in on the secret, didn't they know their daughter well enough to know something wasn't right?

During questioning, Buxton admitted to engaging in multiple sexual acts with the child while he was concealed in her bedroom.

Following his arrest, Buxton was booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on several charges, including child rape, child sodomy, child object rape, and burglary.

Officials were clear in reminding citizens that no matter how complicit a 12-year-old might be in a situation, the law states that statutory rape is a legal term for a sex act with a person who is below the legal age of consent, regardless of whether the victim consented to the act.